FAFSA International Address Issues - Can Expatriates Use US Address When Living Overseas?

same thing happened to my cousin! he works overseas for a tech company, had to use his brother's US address for FAFSA. i think thats what everyone does

This is actually a common issue for expatriate families. For the address question, you should use the US address that represents your U.S. domicile (where you intend to return, maintain ties, etc.). This is typically where you file state taxes, have your driver's license, or are registered to vote. For the state of legal residency question, you should select the state where you maintain your legal domicile. Even though Purdue may classify you as a non-resident for tuition purposes, the FAFSA is asking about your legal domicile for federal aid purposes. These are different systems with different rules. The key is consistency - whatever state you claim on your tax returns should match what you put on the FAFSA. If you file taxes as a Michigan resident, then Michigan should be your answer.

I went through this EXACT situation last year!!! The FAFSA system is NOT designed for expats AT ALL and it's SO FRUSTRATING!! We're stationed in Germany (military) and I ended up using my in-laws' address in Texas since that's where we're technically "from" even though we haven't lived there in 7 years. For state residency I picked Texas since that's where we pay taxes. Honestly the whole thing is a MESS for expats. After submitting, we got flagged for verification and had to explain everything. Total nightmare.

just curious, why not just use a mail forwarding service? thats what my parents did when we lived in japan. they had a service in florida that would scan everything and email it to them. worked for fafsa too i think

As someone who works in university financial aid, I can clarify a few things: 1. For FAFSA purposes, U.S. citizens living abroad should use their most recent U.S. address where they maintain legal ties (voting, taxes, banking, etc.) 2. For state of legal residency, select the state where you last resided and still maintain legal connections. This is different from residency for tuition purposes. 3. Your FAFSA state residency won't impact your daughter's residency status for tuition - that's determined by each university separately using their own criteria. 4. When the new university processes her FAFSA, they'll see she's a U.S. citizen living abroad - this is actually fairly common and won't negatively affect federal aid eligibility. If selected for verification, be prepared to provide documentation explaining your expatriate status.

I tried calling the Federal Student Aid hotline about this EXACT issue last month when helping my nephew with his FAFSA (we're in South Korea). Spent 3 hours on hold before getting disconnected TWICE!! Finally I used Claimyr.com which got me through to an agent in about 10 minutes. They have a service that navigates the phone system for you - saw their demo video (https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ) and it actually worked! The FSA agent confirmed we should use our most recent US address and the state where we file taxes, and that expatriate status doesn't disqualify from federal aid but might impact state-specific aid. Worth talking to them directly about your situation.

Here's the official guidance on this: 1. Address: Use your most recent U.S. address where you maintain legal ties (voter registration, tax filing, etc.) 2. State of Legal Residency: This should be the state where you maintain legal domicile. Even if you physically reside overseas, you maintain legal residency in a U.S. state. 3. Tax Filing Status: Ensure consistency between your tax filing status and FAFSA information. Expatriate status doesn't impact federal aid eligibility since you're still a U.S. citizen. However, you may be ineligible for state-specific grants from your home state if you don't meet their particular residency requirements. Keep documentation showing your legal ties to your claimed state of residency in case of verification.

quick question do expatreates still qualify for pell grants? my cousin is moving to japan next year but his daughter is staying in US for college

UPDATE: I just submitted our FAFSA using our Michigan address (where we maintain our driver's licenses and file state taxes). For the state residency question, I selected Michigan as well to keep everything consistent. The form went through without any errors! Thank you all for your help. I've saved all our expatriate documentation in case we get selected for verification. What a relief to have this sorted out!

Congratulations on getting it submitted! Your approach was spot-on - using the address where you maintain legal ties and keeping everything consistent with your tax filing status is exactly what the Department of Education expects from expatriate families. I've helped several expat families navigate this same issue, and the key is always that consistency between documents. Even if you do get selected for verification (which honestly isn't that common), you're well-prepared with your documentation. Your daughter's federal aid eligibility won't be affected by your overseas residence since you're all still U.S. citizens. Best of luck with her college applications!